OpenAI’s promise to release a Media Manager tool by 2025 remains unfulfilled, leaving creators and legal experts questioning the company’s commitment to addressing intellectual property concerns. The tool, announced in May 2024, was designed to help creators manage how their works are included or excluded from AI training datasets. However, as of January 2025, Media Manager has yet to launch.

Insiders claim the tool was never a high priority within OpenAI. A former employee stated, “I don’t think it was a priority,” while another source coordinating work with OpenAI revealed no updates on the project since December. Additionally, Fred von Lohmann, a legal team member working on the tool, moved to a part-time consultant role in October, potentially impacting its development.

The absence of Media Manager leaves creators with limited and criticized opt-out options. Current methods, such as a form to flag individual works and webmasters blocking bots, are seen as cumbersome and inadequate. The opt-out form for images, for example, requires creators to submit each image manually with a description, making it impractical for those with large portfolios.

This delay occurs amid rising legal challenges. OpenAI faces class-action lawsuits from artists, writers, and media organizations accusing the company of training its AI on copyrighted materials without permission. Plaintiffs include high-profile names like Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, reflecting widespread discontent among creators.

Legal experts doubt Media Manager’s ability to resolve these disputes. Some argue the tool places an unfair burden on creators, requiring them to opt out of AI training proactively. Others question whether OpenAI can effectively manage such a system, given the complexities of identifying copyrighted content at scale.

TECHCRUNCH